


A Series Of Mistakes

by GG_Ladybug



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [8]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ? - Freeform, Accidental Death, Accidents, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Cataclysm | Cat Miraculous Superpower Is Used On A Person, Character Death, F/M, Gen, Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Major Character Injury, News Media, One Shot, Open to Interpretation, POV Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Press and Tabloids, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:02:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28811628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GG_Ladybug/pseuds/GG_Ladybug
Summary: A shield, a twine and a decision to move backwards to stay on his feet rather then fall over. Three crucial points in time that lead him here.Just centimetres away from a cataclysm
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Emma Agreste & Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawkmoth, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth & Nathalie Sancoeur
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1794553
Kudos: 12
Collections: Bad Things Happen





	A Series Of Mistakes

He supposed he could blame it all on a series of unfortunate mistakes. Though he would've preferred to call them events, that implied nothing bad came from it. He wished he had taken a different route, hence it's by definition a mistake.

He assumed the first one could be pegged to becoming Hawkmoth at all, but he wouldn't get all butterfly effect just yet. Realistically, it was choosing to akumatize a man enraged by the disrespect for the environment by building man made structures.

The man dubbing himself as Twiner managed to rip the Eiffel Tower off its hinges right off the bat once the branches that came out his arms wrapped around the bottom. It was an easy way to get Ladybug to call upon her temporary allies. Ever since Miracle Queen, she'd been tight on how their system worked, specifically ensuring that they only be called on the hardest of akuma and that their families go to an appointed safe house just in case they thought they heroes would pull something.

Honestly, they thought he'd attack what? The Ladyblogger's little sisters? What did they take him for? Some low class desperate hostage taker? He'd win fairly the miraculous fairly, and not by holding toddlers at knifepoint, thank you very much. Besides, he'd been in their heads when they'd been the Sapotis. That was chaotic enough for him, let alone with them wailing in fear.

Whatever he ordered of the man only served to make his fury grow to irrefutable levels, which while it served well for his cause, made working with Twiner even harder. It was clear thought that this was a worthy enough akuma to go fight in person too, so he called Nathalie.

That was the next mistake. Deciding to go out in the first place. They'd exchanged their usual words and quips, throwing blows here and there. Just when one got the advantage the other would find a way to play it in their favour. They was at what was once the base of the Eiffel Tower. Now a clear square of battleground Twiner could have free reign over.

The news crews, as usual, were quick to the scene. Helicopter filming above, and Nadia as fearless as ever at ground zero. Commentating across from them. His next and final mistake was choosing to fight off the Nino boy currently moonlighting as Carapace and his partner the blogger Rena Rouge. It was only so the boy couldn't jump in at a crucial moment later and shelter the two main superheroes, and the fox couldn't create a trick.

If he'd gone after the any of the others it wouldn't of happened, and if it was destined, he instead wished he'd gone to the guitar boy since he would've armed second chance for it. He'd just batted away the girls flute when yet again he was caught off guard by Carapace throwing his shield right at his chest. He really had to remember that thing wasn't permanently attached to his arm and back.

Ladybug and Chat Noir's plan had been conducted at a whisper while Mayura was occupied by a diversion via Pegasus and Ryuk alongside King Monkey. Chat's call for Cataclysm was only a whisper, so he had no possible way of preparing himself.

It was as the shield connected with him, and he was shoved back a couple steps, he tripped over one of the branches Twiner had set out previously in the battle. After that, it was like clock work. In the attempt to catch himself and not become vulnerable, he let himself walk quickly backwards as to not fall completely.

Both he and Chat Noir had failed to notice each other in their paths, or accommodated to avoid such a clash, and Hawkmoth only realised himself when he heard Ladybug's screamed warning. For... him? Turning his head, he saw exactly why the girl was worried.

The clawed teenager's hand was outstretched, black bubbling at his fingertips. He'd clearly intended to continue his path directly to the throne Twiner was standing on. The one that's hiding his object in the centre, but now that had been blocked. By his body.

He had no time to throw himself out the way, and Chat was already too close and coming too fast to do the same. Their eyes widened simultaneously, and there was a round of gasps as the claws connected with his side. At first he feels nothing as that small section of suit decays away.

He'd been worried it would strip away his disguise altogether, but as soon as that segment was complete, it stopped and spread inward. The first thing he noticed was the way the small patch of skin he could see turned a strange black. Then the agonising pain followed right after.

Cataclysm had always been about the intended effect the user wanted. So he'd hoped that maybe he'd had enough time to stop it working all together or give him a more desirable outcome at the least. They didn't know what happened if you cataclysm a person. It was still questionable and based on guesses. But they did know that damage done by it is often irreversible in nature.

He intakes a breath sharply which is eerily cut off not a moment later as he stiffens, knees buckling beneath him. He doubled over, clutching the effected area for dear life. The scream of agony that he wanted to leap out his throat never came, becoming audibly stuck in his throat before it could begin, even as his mouth opened to do so. His throat was closing up. It felt like it was on fire. Everything was on fucking fire.

The cataclysm wasn’t followed by an alarming amount of blood. It was just agonising pain and that one viewable decayed area of skin. Any hope of safety was most definitely a decisive no. He initially thought that he was delusional. Maybe shock was already starting to kick in, but he wasn't just dreaming it. His ribs were disappearing.

His eyes clearly conveyed his terror, since Mayura had already rushed over by his side. Ladybug frozen like her counterpart, in tears with a hand covering her mouth from being sick. He's falling now, body convulsing slightly as pure black pain travelled slowly through his very being. His partner only just caught him in time before his head connected with the concrete below. "Fix him! You fix him right now!" Mayura demanded. 

"I-I can't. Not yet. Even if we got the akuma right now, we'd need to wait the cataclysm out so it doesn't continue after we cure everything." The spotted heroine stuttered, staring at her writhing adversary with increasing distress. "We're just going to let him die?!? How long will he have to suffer because of your idiocy!" Mayura raged.

At that, Chat and Ladybug both paled. "We'd intended it to be a slow process so you didn't notice it working on the inside and breaking the object... at least 3 minutes." She whispered despairingly. Hawkmoth should've been embarrassed by the small whine he let out at that in front of his enemies, but he didn't care right now. He was in too much pain to give two hells. 

Mayura's clutch on him is tighter, and he's being pulled onto her lap as she brushed a hand down his face comfortingly. The black cat himself is utterly silent, staring at his hands in horror.

Hawkmoth had been through many things. The loss of his wife. The fair share of brawls he got himself into in the 90's. Battles in this form. Fighting off his own self defence system when Robustus went rogue. However, this was by far the worst 3 minutes in all his life. The agony was spreading everywhere until eventually it crept closer and closer to his chest.

With each contact the cataclysm made, it felt like his internals were being reduced to nothing but mush. He couldn't feel or move anything in his extremities. They'd all been the first to go. 

Then a desperate choking for breath told the heroes exactly when it hit his lungs and began to choke him out. He coughed out harshly, as though that would help, but there was nothing but ash in his throat. His eyes widened in fear at the lack of oxygen he could take in. Mayura was crying at his state. He didn't blame her. He was too.

The work on his lungs is slow, but not slow enough for him to bite the dust before it hit his heart. Pain paIN PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN! Back arching, any noises he was making came to a terrifying halt midway, before his eyes fluttered shut and didn't reopen.

The heroes had taken the time to defeat Twiner who'd been far easier beaten during the shock of it all. "Save him." Mayura demanded, holding onto his hand desperately as one beep rang through the air and one of the wings on his miraculous disappeared.

Right. He was dead and had used his power. Even as an adult, the only reason you stayed transformed was because it used your own energy. A dead person didn't exactly have any left to offer. "I-I don't know if it will fix everything though-" Ladybug warned at a quiver. "Then JUST TRY!" She snapped.

The cure is cast, and he doesn’t snap into awareness...


End file.
